The Sun. — London, England, 1864-01-23 00:00:00

THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY, (Front the Special Correspondent of the Eras.) RICHMOND, Dec. 21, 1863. It is a singular commentary upon the brilliant engineering capacity of Gen. Gilmore, of which so much has been said in Northern journals, that after one of the costliest sieges on record, and after the loss of hundreds of lives, and the expenditure of mountains of projectiles, he has attained no result greater than was within his reach so far back as June, 1862. It will appear hardly credible that before the battle of Secessionville it was competent for the Federals to establish batteries as near to the heart of the city of Charleston as is the situa tion of their present batteries on Morris Island at Cumming's Point. It should be understood by your readers that there is on James's Island, near the Stono River, to the west of Secessionville, church, which lies a distance of precisely four and a half miles from St. Michael's Church, in the centre of Charleston. This church was occupied by the Federals before the battle of Secessionville in June of last year. It was again occupied by them before their attack upon Battery Wagner on the 10th of July of the current year. Upon the 16th of last July the Confederates attacked the Federal garrison which held the church in question, and, inasmuch as the garrison consisted almost entirely of black troops, little difficulty was ex perienced by the Confederates in recovering the position. At the same moment Gilmore's main force was doing desperate fighting and cannonad ing, which resulted at the end of 58 days i n land ing him at a po i n t equidistant from Ch ar l es t on with that which he had evacuated almost without a struggle on July 16, 1863. It w ill rea dily be believed that since July the Confederates have not been idle in providing against the danger of this point falling again into Federal hands. I aca assured that the science of defensive military engineering has been exhausted in securing James and Sallivan's Islands from the possibility of suc cessful attack. There is, I have little reason to doubt, but one possible avenue bywhich the Federals can indulge the venom of the Atlantic 31onthly, so often shed and projected against Charleston, and enable the writers in its pages to sow the ruins of that hated city with salt. It will be by landing 50,000 men on the South Carolina coast, by seizing upon the Charleston and Savannah Railroad and advancing along it upon the former city. It may be imagined, before such an attempt can be success ful, what an amount of labour, time, and money it w ill ex act. Any other Government on earth, save that which has attempted to canalise the Missis sippi, and to secure its free navigation by supplying fresh steamers upon its waters quicker than they can be burnt by the enemy, would be aghast at the stupendous magnitude of such a task as supplying the requisite transport for this enterprise, and estab lishing the necessary supply depots at Hilton Head and Port Royal. Vengeance is doubtless as sweet to Boston As to any other city on earth, but gene rations yet unborn will wince under their expe rience of the burden laid on their shoulders by such men as Mr. Everitt. It needs but the folly of a few additional enterprises like the attempted cap ture of Charleston by land to make the burden heavier than future generations can bear. It seems to me that whenever and if ever reason‘ ableness and sobriety resume their sway in Boston and New York, the siege of Charleston, as con ducted by the Federals, will be looked on as one of the most stupendous follies ever witnessed upon earth. In order to attain to such a success as is in volved in the ability to throw Greek fire into Charleston from a distance of four miles and a half, and in order to stop a great port of entry for blockade runners, a sum of money bas been lavished which would purchase the whole State of South Carolina. It is probably known in Eugland long before this time that the Greek fire is not more formidable than a child's Christmas crackers; it wilt probably be known hereafter that Charleston, as a port of entry for blockade-running vessels, will do as much busi• ness in 1864 as she did in 1862. Bat, putting spite, venom, and vengeance out of the question, 1 believe that never upon earth was an enterprise undertaken in which the object soughtpossessed a value so dis proportionate to the price which it exacted for its attainment. The payment of this price by the Fede rals, unrewarded though it has hitherto been by any encouraging success, is the measure, not of the value which they attach to the possession of the city of Charleston in ruins, but of the grudge which ever since the days of Andrew Jackson the Northern States, and pre-eminently New England, have nursed and cherished against the home of " nullifi cation," the cradle of Secession. Again I feeltempted to raise a werning voice about the disparity of the armament on board of the English and American navies. It is impossible for those who have been many months absent from England to be well informed as to the actual state of public opinion at the present moment upon this vital subject. But, judging from the officers of her Majesty's navy who have at rare intervals brought vessels of war into Confederate ports, it appears still to be held that the 68-pounders or 8-inch smooth bore is England's best weapon of offence against iron clad vessels. The experience gained at Charleston enables me confidently to affirm that as well might you pelt one of the Yankee Monitors or Ironsides with peas as expect them to be in any way damaged by 8-inch shot. Another disagreeable question forces itself upon an Englishman's attention when he is cogni sant of the terrific broadside thrown by the eight 11-inch guns of the Ironsides—one of the most formidable broadsides, in the opinion of the de fenders of Charleston, which has ever been thrown by any vessel upon earth. Have we any ship in existence which could successfully resist such a broadside, and respond to it with anything like commensurate weight and vigour ? I should be faithless to my duty if I did not mention that it is the universal opinion of all the English officers serving in the Confederate army with whom I have conversed that England is behind America in the weight and power of the guns sent by both nations to sea. It is still a matter of the greatest surprise to those who are cognisant of the endless experi ments in guns and projectiles which are every day made by the Federal and Confederate States that England has not thought it worth her while to attach to the armies of both nations such a commis bioll as M'Clellan had in the Crimean War, with a view to their gaining such scientific information with regard to ordnance and projectiles as at this moment can be gained nowhere else on earth. It is my conviction that from both sections such com missioners would receive nothing but courteous and unreserved information upon all that it imported them to know. It is scarcely creditable to our Government that they should be blind to the oppor tunities for gaining information which this gigantic conflict affords, or that from Old World pride they should refuse to avail themselves of the experience t o be derived from a continent destined henceforth and evermore to play no secondary part in the drama of the world. It is my intention in my next letter to give full details of my recent visit to the Libby Prison and Belle Isle, In the meantime, I will content myself with stating that, in my belief, prisoners of war have seldom been more tenderly treated than are the 1,040 Federal officers now held captive in the Libby. There was at one moment a great deficiency of the Commissary-General's stores at Richmond, occasioned by temporary causes, and of not mar than four days' duration. During these four days the prisoners experienced what has again and again been endured nrIIIIIIITILITID gly by Confederate sol diers in the field, and were obligul to live entirely upon farinaceous food. Loud as have been the out cries in Yankeedom about their starving prisoners, t h ere has been nu less uproar in the Confederate Congress against Commissary-GenerulNorthrup' by reas on of the deprivation of meat which, during • these four days, he inflicted upon the' prisoners. the 'Thersites of the S outhern Congress, Mr. Fogfel has made the rafters ring With his denunciations of Prer.iflCTlL Davis, who 13 understood to be a friend of Mr. Northrup, and who for divers reasons is especially ()brio-emus to Mr. Foote. It will not, in my opinion., be possib]c for the Now York journals to awaken a fresh burst of European indignation by Factitious representations of miseries which have no existence in fact. That the condition of a pri eoner of war is at best iriste and unenviable need ,he Federal officers confined in the Libby could be hardly be stated to any sensible man or woman. If admitted to a sight of the heartrending letters which I have read from Confederate officers con- fined on Johnson's Island, they would face their lot with a little more manliness, and no , , aggravate trials already sufficiently irksome by permitting themselves to imagine that their sufferings are ex ceptional and peculiar, and such as were never borne by any other prisoners of war upon earth. For the present it will be sufficient to state that I hope shortly to give such facts and statistics as will esta blish, at least to the satisfaction of Europe, the true condition of the unhappy starvelings whose ima- ginary agonies have been such a rich mine to the press, and especially to the illustrated journals, of __ _ New York. The presence for the last ten days of General Lee [n Richmond has led to many rumours of his being about to go to the West, but, as I mentioned in my letter of the 14th inst., the appointment of General Joseph G. Johnston to fill the post vacated by General Bragg has been for some time past decided. It is understood that throughout the deliberations which have preceded this appointment Gen. John- ston's claims have been warmly urged by General Lee. And here let ma do justice to the patriotism and unselfishness of General Bragg's bearing since his " decapitation," which have been such as all those who were best acquainted with his character expected at his hands. Without rancune, with generous cordiality and warmth, he has offered to fill the post of Chief of the Staff to General John ston or General Lee—the same post which at the commencement of the war he so successfully filled under General A. Sidney Johnson. I believe that nothing is as yet settled with regard to the post to which General Bragg will be appointed. The cor respondence with the War department in which General Bragg has recently played so creditable a part will hereafter, when made known to his coun trymen, recommend him to their favour in a degree of which they are at present unable to form any conception. The military movements of the past week have been of little moment, unless (as is at this moment hoped rather than expected) they should end in the capture of the Federal Cavalry General Averill, who has struck boldly into the heart of Virginia, and inflicted some damage, though not much, upon :he Virginia and Tennessee railroad at Salem eta. tion, It is along this railroad which connects Lynchburg with Bristol in Tennessee, that the supplies for General Longstreet's army—or rather such supplies as he cannot gather on the spot where his army is stationed—are forwarded to him. It is hoped that General Fitz Lee, ono of the most active of the cavaliers of Virginia, will be in time to cut off General Averill's retreat ; but such is the length of the frontier line over which it is possible for the Federais to retire that I have little expectation of the attainment of this result. Gen. Longstreet has during the past week given a hug to a small portion of a Federal force, which was making believe to pursue him, and would apparently have inflicted material damage upon them had not a great rise in the Holston River forbidden the Confederate cavalry to cross and intercept the Federal retreat. Nothing is, I suspect, further from Gen. Longstreet's intention than to leave to Gen. Burnside the unmolested possession of Knoxville during the present winter. The withdrawal from around Chattanooga and Northers Georgia of Federal troops still continues, and is by some ex pected to lead to the evacuation of Knoxville and East Tennessee. It is evident that some important development of Federal strategy is in progress, and the large number of transports and their activity on the Potomac are suggestive either of some attempt upon Richmond by water, or of a descent upon Charleston. Be the programme of the Aulic Council at Washington what it may, it will, I apprehend, be impossible for them to permit the winter months to wear inactively away. There are signs which in dicate unmistakably that the unanimity of the Washington Ccugress about the prosecution of the wai is a thing of the past. It is idle to talk about a large portion of the Federal army, which is about to disband in May,being willing to enlist again. There aro too many Federal prisoners in the South, and too great uniformity of opinion among them about their own future conduct when their time of service will bo up, to admit of any doubt as to what the conduct of their comrades under similar circum stances will be. Unless that mighty Battle of Armageddon, which has incessantly danced before the clazz'ed vision of the North, is fought between the present moment and the Ides of May, let all hope of aggressive warfare be abandoned by the Federals. It is true that they may be strong enough to repel invasion, and to maintain the blockade of their enemy's ports for years to come, but it is doubt ful whether such an amount of unanimity as will be requisite to enable them even to preserve this atti tude can be secured for 12 months more. In the meantime, if ever England, under the guidance of Mr. Cobden and Mr. Beecher, has been led to be lieve that this is honestly a war for the abolition of slavery, what will be said when it is known that the motion of Mr. Rollins, of Missouri, to the effect that "This war is not waged in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or subjection, nor for the purpose of overthrowing and interfering with the rights of established institutions in those States," was recently carried in the House of Representatives at Washington by a majority of 115 votes against 52 ? The winter has already worn half away, and none of the terrible trials which were bespoken for the Confederate States by Southern croakers and Northern threateners have as yet made themselves felt. With true English heartiness, Virginia is put ting on her Christmas garb, and if the social condi tion of Richmond were canvassed at this moment, I should say that exception might reasonably be taken on the ground rather of an excess than of a shortcoming of merriment. The markets of the present winter are unquestionably more abundant hitherto than were those of last winter; oysters, game, venison, poultry are offered in the greatest profusion. Irish potatoes are almost a drug, and, as I predicted, are served out with the rations of the Virginian army in the field. Prices have ceased to be weighed and considered ; the Confederate dollar is worth about twopence English, and is so regarded by everybody, for everybody has dollars in abundance. The temper of Congress on the ques tion of the war is stern and unyielding as was that of the Roman Senate after Cann; but I fear that I must be permitted to express a doubt whether they are fitter to deal with the difficult question of their currency than was the French National Con vention to cope with the analogous embarrassment of their assignats. He, however, who should fancy that this war will be stopped by the breaking down of a financial system upon either side cannot be other than a sorry judge of human nature, and poorly versed in the teachings of history. If there be any misnomer on earth, it is that which makes money synonymous with the sinews of war. Never yet was war stopped by the impecuniosity of belli gerents ; least of all in a country blessed with such abundanc3 as this continent, where all that is requs site for the wants of man is lavished upon him with matchless bounty, where the clouds drop fatness and the valleys laugh and sing, and where all that was wanted to secure prospectively to a third of the human race such contentment and happiness as have been denied to Europe was the presence of `wo qualities of which, more than any other nation, , I Americans are bereft—humility and moderation. Ire ADVERTISEMENT.]—Avoid medicines: they always aggra vate chronic complaints, but Du Barry's Delicious Health Restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, which saves fifty times its cost in other remedies, invariably cures them, restoring perfect digestion, strong nerves, sound lungs, healthy liver, pure blood, refreshing sleep, functional regularity, and energy to the most disordered or enfeebled. We extract a few out of 60,000 Cures :—Cure No. 58,216 of the Marchioness de Brehm', Paris, of a liver complaint, wasting away for seven years, debility, with a nervous palpitation all over, bad digestion, constant sleeplessness, the most intolerable nervous agitation, and dreadfully low spirited.—Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Decies, Lord Lieut. of Waterford, of many years' dyspepsia.—No. 49,832. " Fifty years' indescribable a..fony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatulency, spasms, sickness, and vomiting.—Maria Jolly." —Cure No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Frimley, Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of blood, liver derange • ment, and partial deafness.—Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, low spirits, and nervous fancies.—Cure No. 54,816. The Rey. Jas, T. Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, "of indigestion and torpi dity or the liver, which had resistel all medical treatment" In tins, 1 lb., 2s. 9d. ; 21b., 4s. 6d ; 51b., 113. ; 121 b., 225. ; 21th 40s.—Barry Du Barry and Co., No. 77, Regent-street, London; also Fortnum and lllason ; and all Grocers and Cllenists in every town of the United Kingdom. THE SUN, LONDO Complimentary Soiree to Mr. George Thompson. A complementary soiree was given in the Manchester Town Hall, on Thursday evening, to Mr. Geo. Thompson, the well-known advocate of negxo emancipation, prior to his departure to America. About 500 persons were present, and the chair was taken by Mr. Geo. Wilson.--The Chair man said that since Manchester elected to lose the first place in the House of Commons by the rejection of its represen- tatives, he had preferred to see the exposition of his politics at Ashton, Rochdale, and Birmingham—but he could scarcely have acquitted himself of the calls of conscience if he had remained absent from that meeting, because, consi • dering Mr. Thompson's great services to the country and to freedom, he esteemed that gentleman to hold a place in the front rank of all living men.—Mr. T. H. Barker read an address to Mr. Thompson, beautifully illuminated on vel lum, and encased in morocco leather. It commenced with an acknowledgment of the 30 years' services which Mr. Thompson had devoted to " every advanced movement for the welfare of the human race, but pre-eminently in the caase of freedom." "Whoever the foe, whatever the diffi culty, he had always been the steadfast friend and defender of liberty and justice, His able pen and eloquent tongue had always been at the service of the true friends of universal emancipation. His name was not unknown to the friends and foes of liberty in the Federal Republic of America. Associated with the name of William Lloyd Garrison, the name of George Thompson had become a cherished house hold word in the homes of that kindred and friendly nation. On this cccasion he would visit America under circum stances, and with prospects very different from those he encountered on his two previous visits. Within the last three or four years it might be said that a nation had been born again in the cause of freedom. " That nob' e martyr liberty, John Brown, the hero of Harper's Ferry, by his magnanimous devotion, sent a thrill of new impulse to the nation's heart of hearts. The moral electricity of that grand human soul, not only galvanised the shareholders of the South, but awakened to new life, to new purpose, and to new hope the drooping spirits of the freemen of the North. Had it not been for that immolation on the altar of liberty and patriotism, honest Abraham Lincoln could not have been elected President of the Union, nor have been enabled to become the second deliverer of the nation, and the holy cause of negro emancipation would have gone back probably half a century, It was the cr'sis of the nation's utmost social, political, and moral need, and the providence of God raised up a man who had a heart and a conscience above the tricks of politicians and the subtleties of diplomacy." George Washington gave the American nation the precious boon of independence; Abraham Lincoln conferred a more inestimable blessing, by proclaiming the Federal nation henceforth the home of universal freedom. Though the great work was not fully and finally accomplished, the foundation of true national freedom was laid, and the day was at hand when the top-stone should be raised amid the plaudits of every free nation throughout the world.—Mr. Etnest Jones moved the adoption of the address. He said that, and all the efforts in which M. Thompson had been engaged, the one which he had been most gloriously associated, was the struggle for the emancipation of negro slavery. He would now go to America as an ambassador, to draw the links of friendship still closer. His entry into the States would not be a mere isolated, individual act. The Americans would recognise in hint one who represented as largely as any man the feelings and the virtues of the English people.—Mr. Charles Thompson seconded the adoption of the address, which was supported by Mr. J. H. Estcourt, Dr. Pankhurst, the Rev. J. C. Street, and Dr, John 'Watts, and adopted.—Mr. George Thompson, who was received with loud cheers, rose to accept the address. He said that he left England with the consciousness of having been no place hunter ; he had never asked to be rewarded for his efforts for the weal of this country. He did not leave England a disappointed man, nor with any desire to cast reflections on his country, for with all her faults he loved her still, He did not go to America in the expectation, or with the view of receiving a welcome when he landed there, or with the hope of having a seat on the floor of Congress, or receiving an invitation to dine with Mr. Chase, Mr. Seward, or Mr. Lincoln. What drew him with the most strength to America was the wish to meet a cherished few who were the pioneers in the great and glorious movement of negro emanci • pation. That cause had enlisted his sympathies from his earliest years; it increased when as a boy he went to the Freemason's hall, London, to listen to the dulcet tones of Wilberforce, and the magnificent eloquence of the now deceased Henry Brougham, for Lord Brougham lived, but Henry Brougham was dead. (Applause.) Twenty .nine years ago, and shortly after his first public appearance in Man chester, he (Mr. Thompson) visited America. He was hunted about that country like a partridge upon the mountains, a reward was set upon his capture, and gallows were even erected at his door. But he who was " spewed" out of America 29 years ago, should return to see that mighty people in its right mind, bringing forth " fruit meet to re pentanca" in 'She shape of freedom to the race they once abased. If he had the opportunity he should represent to Mr. Lincoln the feelings of this country towards the Northern States ; and t hough he was absent from England in body, he should be here in spirit, and take interest in her welfare.—Mr. J. Patten and Mr. Glazibrook presented an address from the Ashton-under-Lyne Union and Emancipation Socisty. It acknowledged the services which Mr. Thompson had ren dered to the cause of negro emancipation, and his zealous advocacy and defence of the great principles of political and social reform, of his assistance to secure a suitable administration to guard the interests of British India, and of his advocacy of the repeal of the corn laws. The society rejoiced to have had his counsel and co-operation during the present American rebellion. They sincerely hopel he might have a pleasant and speedy voyage, and that he would be welcomed by thousands of generous hearts when he reached America—the future refuge of the lieerties of mankind. Mr. U. Thompson briefly acknow ledged the compliment that had been paid him by his friends at Ashton, and after the meeting had :been ad dressed by Captain T. M. Chester, a coloured man from Liberia, the proceedings closed With a vote of thanks to the chairman. The Prospects of the Negro in America, The following is an extract from a letter sent by Frederick Douglas to a friend in Leeds, dated Ro chester, U.S., Dec. 29, 1863 : "I never was listened to with such attention as now. My leading idea now before the people is, No war but an abolition war; no peace but an abolition peace.' The Government and people still need line upon line and pre cept upon preecept. At Washington, a few evenings ago, where I went to deliver two lectures in aid of the contra bands or freedmen, and where I raised more than 100 dollars for them, the house was densely packed by white and coloured people, and the papers say th It 2000 went away unable to gain admission. Now, think of me in Washington, where three years ago I should have been murdered in ten minutes had I dared to open my mouth for my enslaved people. While in Washington I was taken by Mr. James Wormley over to the Virginia side, to visit the contraband village on the estate of the rebel General Lee, known as Arlington Heights. All around were striking proofs of retribution. Here we see the proud mansion of the rebel slaveholder occupied by common soldiers and by his former slaves ; his fences in ruble; ; his noble ancestral trees, the pride of generations, cut down ; his once beautifully winding lane, over which he rolled in pride and splendour, all cut up by the wheels of army waggons ; his formerly richly furnished parlours are now occupied by soldiers, and the whole premises bear marks of desolation. I should have been deeply sad over the ruin but for the thought that this was the reward of iniquity—a righteous retribution—a wise and necessary chastisement of crimes =repented, perpe • trated against the weak, the ignorant, and the defenceless. I went to the gentlemen's Smoke House :' there I saw dear little children, some of them nearly white, and possibly more nearly related to the General than he would be will ing to own. They were too small to be taken eouth in his flight, and had been left on the place with a few old slaves, who were too old to be taken, and not wanted. The little children in the' Smoke House' were being taught to read. The Smoke House' had become the school house, and the property of the pupils. Taking a book in my hand, I said to one little follow, Can you spell where your book is opened? ' Yes, air,' he answered. I pronounced' abandon' which was the first word in the column. He spelt it off with a look of trinroph and pride that he could do it with such ease. Had the past participle been added, the ward might be the crying word of the slave system of Arlington Heights. I tried to make a few encouraging remarks to these dear little children and their teachers, and loft for the ' freed men's village,' about a mile from the mansion of General Lee, situated on the south part of his plantation. This place is the temporary home for slave women, children, and old slaves, who ware abandoned and deserted by their mas ters on the approach of the loyal army. Others, too, are hero who have made good their escape, after having en dured untold hardships and perils in their efforts to reach our lines. More than a thousand hero have thus gained their freedom and aro beginning life with nothing but the few rags upon their persons with which they made their escape. Of course they are in great destitution; much has been done for them, but they need much more. Regular religious exercises are held among theta e very Sunday, and now they have a day school established, from which much good may be expected. I wish you could eeo this school. When I was there there were 100 children in it, the de scendants of slaves, so held for many generations, going back more than 200 years. The sight of these poor little children brought tears of joy, sadness, hope, and fear, aria I know not what else. Three years ago to have taught these children in Virginia would have subjected the teacher to a heavy fine and to imprisonment. Now teachers and pupils are alike safe. I thought and felt much as I looked upon and listened to those black children. I thought of the gene rations of the race which had preceded them, sent from time to eternity in the dark, and not even allowed to learn to read the name of Heaven; I thought how much further these children might have been, advanced had their ancestors enjoyedlthe privileges now:opening (heaven grant that they be not shut) before them. The teachers (Mr. and Mrs. Simmons) kindly asked me to address the children. I complied, and sang two or three hymns with them. I enjoyed the interview more than . I can express, SATURDAY EVENING, lANUARY 23, 1864. and am soon to visit them again, also those at Alexandria. But I am filling my letter with contrabands,' and indeed 1 might write a volume about them, if I had time, and you required it to deepen your interest in my long• enslaved people." THE MURDER AT LEOMINSTER, APPREHENSION OF THE HUSBAND. LEOMINSTER, Friday. An inquest was held at the workhouse this morning, be fore Mr. N. Lanwarne, coroner, and a respectable jury, on the body of Mary Ann Watkins, who was found cruelly murdered in a field on Monday last. The husband, who was apprehended yesterday afternoon, was present during the inquiry. David Lipscombe, a person living on his own property, at Stoke Prior, said—On Monday evening I was going home through an orchard, and heard a moaning noise on the other aide of the hedge. I stood still and then the moaning ceased. On hearing it again more distinctly I went in the direction of the sound, and then found in a field a woman weltering in her blood. Her face was in a pool of blood, and I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head round. After I placed her head on her arm she seemed to breathe more freely. I then went for assistance. The place where I found her was about 400 yards from Strawberry Cottage, where I went for the gardener, who lives there. He brought a lantern, and we both returned to the body, and the gardener put the lantern to the women's face, and said it was Mary Anne Watkins. We then went to her lodgings and told the people there what had occurred. We next went for the Constable Bale, and returned to the woman, who was after wards removed to the union. She had no bonnet on when I saw her. I met no one previous to seeing the body. It was a moonlight night. James Lane, who lived very near, stated that he was called by Lipscombe to go to the place where the body was, and with a lantern recognised t he woman as Mrs. Watkins. He suspected that it was her because she had expressed fear of her husband, who had threatened her so much that wit ness often accompanied her home to guard her. George Smith, the man at whose house the woman lodged, was examined, and he stated that on frequent occasions her husband had uttered threats against her life, and the lives of two others, including the life of the youngest child. They often had words together but never came to blows, He charged her with immoralities, but wanted her to go and live with him again. For some months past he had been loitering about, and on one occasion he had behaved in a most eccentric manner, threatening to destroy himself. Thomas Jones deposed that on last Monday night the prisoner came to his house at Stratford, about three-quarters of a mile from the spot of the murder, at about a quarter to ten o'clock. He was then in an excited state. He, how ever, had a pipe of tobacco, and then began to talk of his wife, saying that he was just going up to Smith to ask his wife to come to live with him. Upon going away he said perhaps he would never see him again, as he had a good mind to jump into the brook. Mr. Alexander deposed that he was superintendent of the borough force, and went to the spot directly after the information of the murder was received, and on going to the field he saw a pool of blood. The same morning, with the aid of lights, they distinctly discovered peculiar clog marks up and down the path, and near one gate were clear indications of a man with clogs having sat down in a hedge. There is a path on each side of the hedge, and clear marks of the person with clogs having walked up and down seve ral times. The impression of the clog was so peculiar it could not be mistaken, and in the fallow field there were the marks of two persons, ono with clogs the other with female boots, having walked the whole length of the path up to where the struggle commenced. Next day these footmarks were taken up. The bonnet of deceased was found in the hedge, and there were other indications that she fell head foremost into the hedge. A hair-net was also found near. The tracks of the prisoner were traced for three days, and he was ap prehended about six miles from Leominster, at the farm house known as Haven, is the parish of Dilwyn. He was standing at the door asking for cider, and he had been talk ing with Mrs. Bray about the murder, stating that the man who had done it had drowned himself. Ho denied the murder. He (witness) examined the clothes of prisoner and found blood on them in several places. The marks of blood were very distinct. The clogs produced were taken from the feet of the prisoner, and they corresponded with the impres sions. Saveral other witnesses were examined, including Mr. E. Goddard, the surgeon, the evidence of whom tended to bring home the crime to the prisoner. The jury ultimately returned a verdict of Wilful Murder, upon hearing which the prisoner cried, and said he wanted to see his wife. Fatal Accident on the London and South. Western Railway. EXTRAORDINARY CASE. Last evening Mr. Bedford, coroner for Westminster, re. sumed an inquiry at King's College Hospital relative to the death of Samuel Ward, a French polisher, lately residing at Mortlake, who died from injuries received at the Mort lake station of the said railway on Monday, the 11th inst. Mr. Crombie, the secretary, attended on behalf of the company, and Mr. A. Haines for the friends of deceased. Upon the reassembling of the jury last evening the following evidence was adduced : Wm. Gregory, of 18, Albion-road, Wandsworth, said ho was a traveller, and was a passenger by the Richmond train on Monday, the 11th inst. He got into the train at Rich mond at 6 30, as did also the deceased. Sat opposite the de ceased, who appeared quite sober. The first thing that at tracted his attention was a call out on the platform at Mott lake, and he saw the carriage door open and the deceased was gone. Had not seen him rise from the seat. The train was then in mo , ion. At no time had the train stopped before ho saw the deceased was missing to allow of anyone getting out. _ _ Mr. Haines said he had half a dozzn witnesses who could prove deceased cl , d not get into the carriage at Richmond. The Coroner said they had better be called. Wm. Best, residing at Twickenham, said the deceased was with him at Twickenham from half-past 4 till ten mi nutes past 6 on the day in question. He was sober. When he left witness he did not say where he was going. He was then a mile and a half from the Richmond station. By Mr. Haines—Deceased could not have reached the train at Richmond at the time stated after he left witness. Henry Joseph Lawder, a builder at Richmond, said he saw deceased arrive at Richmond at half-past 6 in the train from Twickenham. Did not speak to him, as the window of the carriage was closed. Charles Wilkes said he attended to the book stall at Twickenham station, and saw the deceased at the station when the train arrived, but did not see him get into the car riage. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST. The report of the directors to the meeting on the 29th inst. has been published. The amount of capital raised on the 31st December, 1863, is £11,708,974, consisting of— Ordinary stock and shares, £1,885,629 ; preferential stock, £3,991,911; mortgage debt, £1,577,375 ; debenture stock, £1,254,059 ; total, £11,708,974. The amount of capital ex pended during the half-year is £625,580, of which full par ticulars appear in the capital account annexed. The issue of debenture stock continues, and the reduction of interest on the mortgage debt has reached a point which leaves the whole of the loan capital bearing a rate of interest which scarcely exceeds 4 per cent. The gross revenue has been £537,160, showing a diminution of £43,401, when compared with the corresponding half-year. The directors, in an- nouncing so large a reduction, cannot forget that it was hardly unexpected, inasmuch as the comparison is with the exceptional period of the International Exhibition of 1862. Besides this, it is to be attributed to a considerable extent to the great reduction of fares which took place on the Ist of August last, whilst, considering the short period during which it has been in force, that reduction could not be cora- pensated for by the augmentation which experience proves to have always followed diminution of charges, and of which the realisation must not be expected until time has been given to produce this unfailing result. The directors, however, remain of opinion that the policy which they adopted will ultimately be productive of benefit to the corn • patty, and secure its prosperity, and they consider that at no time has the undertaking been in a more sound and satisfactory state as regards its territorial position. They trust, therefore, that the proprietors will share their con viction that the present reduction of dividend need not cause uneasiness, inasmuchlas the object of the course pur sued will undoubtedly be realised, and the permanent in terests of the company thereby promoted and secured. The balance available for dividend is also much diminished by a further heavy debit for compensations in respect of accidents not occurring during the past half-year, the total sum thus taken from the revenue of the company during 1863 being £21,632. This account is now virtually closed, and the directors sincerely trust that such claims may in future be averted, and that some steps will be taken in the legislature to relieve railway companies from heavy and unjust exac • tions. In the case of this company, no expense has been spared to maintain the line, the plant, and the staff, in a state of the highest efficiency, and the accidents which led to this serious loss arose from the necessity of depending upon human agency, and ware such that no skill in the management nor any selection of materials the workmanship could have averted. Notwithstanding the loss of revenue as compared with the period of the Exhibition of 1862, the number of passengers has increased, forming the best proof that the reduction of fares and the extension of the company's suburban system have already partially realised the antici pated benefits. The season tickets have largely increased in number since the reduction of charges in January last, producing an actual increase in receipts of £6,117. The working expenses are somewhat heavier in consequence of the additional miles worked, and the opening of the Pul borough and Ford, and the Croydon and Balham lines. No sum having been placed last half-year to the credit of the permanent way improvement account, the annual charge of £7.000 is new debited to revenue. It must also be borne in mind, that as compared with the corresponding half-year of 1862, interest on additional capital, amount ing to £642,360, is charged to revenue. On the whole the amount of expenditure is satisfactory, and is not increased in proportion to the work performed. The line from Pulborough to Ford was opened on the Ist of August, and the Littlehampton branch on the 17th of the same month. The former affords the anticipated facilities for the seperation of the Brighton from the coast traffic, and the service between London and the western portion of the coast lines. Steamers aro already running between Littlehampton and the Channel Islands, and a communication with other ports may shortly be expected. The directors have made the necessary appli cation to Parliament for the extension of the company's steamboat powers to Littlehampton, so that they may pos sess them in case of necessity, as they anticipate a conside rable traffic hereafter between that harbour and the oppo site coast of Normandy, to which it is the nearest port. The Newhaven and Dieppe steamboat service is progressing satisfactorily, and a fair augmentation of revenue may be reasonably expected from that source. The works on the South London line are making rapid progress, and by the end of the year 1864 it may be hoped that these, as well as the widening of the Greenwich viaduct, and the necessary enlargement of the London-bridge station, will be ready for traffic. There being so many projects before Parliament in the present session to accomplish similar objects, the directors desire to call the attention of their shareholders to the fact that at an early period they will be prepared to afford accommodation the want of which appears to be so much felt ; and they are of opinion that amongst the pro posed metropolitan railway schemes, the South London line may be regarded as offering to the public in the suburbs of London the greatest possible amount of facility and accom modation ; they, therefore, feel justified in looking forward to a large revenue from this new source, and to a most favourable result from the construction of this important metropolitan line. In accordance with the terms of tae last report, which received the sanction of the proprietors, the directors have taken the necessary steps to obtain powers from Parliament for the censtruetion of such branches as will afford the necessary accommodation to East Sussex, and to the Eastern part of Brighton. Bills have also been introduced to enable the company to complete the northern link of the Streatham, Mitcham, and Sutton line of last year; to carry out the arrangements concluded with the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company as re gards the access to Victoria Station ; to extend the New Croydon line into the town of Croydon, and for other minor matters. Powers had been included in the company's notices for an improved connexion between the Balham line and Victoria Station, but the owners and occupiers of property at Clapha n a•comrnon having strongly objected to the scheme, it will be withdrawn. The net amount of the credit of the revenue account is £132,901, out of which the directors recommend the payment of a dividend of 21 per cent. for the half-year, payable on the 12th of February, amounting to £122,107, leaving a balance to the credit of the current balf-year of £10,797. TRAFFIC RECEIPTS FOR THE WEEK. Miles Opened. Receipts.-s Railways. 1863. 1862 1,831 1.730 626 597 1,507 1,218 5,070 5,090 18 384 16.'28 0 221 242 339 302 117 147 425 3 18 1,277 1,053 221 221 1,250 1,287 1,421 1.279 181 123 2,064 1,495 7,261 6 853 2,874 2,712 7,468 7,032 28,033 26,665 31,687 26 882 1,615 1.753 390 397 7,290 7.324 54,133 50,243 1,053 826 1,141 1,530 1,698 34,250 31,121 136 138 78 101 588 437 56,965 78,032 1,561 1,609 17,13 G 16.502 12, ,, 60 14,343 3,828 2 524 755 155 1.042 967 15,076 13 819 1,2 )8 1,060 1,2;0 1.381 1,861 2,306 42,266 37,988 4,18 g 4,077 1,509 1,571 2,585 2,315 11,869 11,006 49,517 45,391 2,905 3,097 7,875 7,545 1,098 864 880 820 2,167 1,914 4,578 4,276 5,000 4.772 501 284 2. , '86 2,866 17,753 17,208 5,5 9 9 4,727 2,479 2,103 155 171 2,312 1,801 398 4 7 1 1,300 1,247 661 614 3,363 3,061 562 5 61 939 t 07 807 740 1,121 095 22,743 21,315 301 263 2,031 1,030 2,300 1,377 4,0(0 3,210 3,051 3,535 18,335 48,009 10,453 8,969 19,121 19,551 19,8:1 7,633 3,387 3,579 523 . 518 10,320 10,tig2 4,985 3,3.21 1;058 ABl 47,413 48,559 91,142 101,420 66,757 51,166 708 - 938 411 1,318 1,350 66,665 75,1, , 6 22,396 20,819 953 925 37,001 .35,019 1863. 1862. Belfast and N. Counties 136 Belfast and County Down._ 49 Blyth and Tyne . 28 B ris tol and Exeter 1214 Caledonian Cockermouth& Workin.Tton.,, gt Cork and Bandon Cork, Blackrock, & Pashage 6} Cork and Youghal Cornwall .......... 652 Deeside l7 Dublin & Bell ast Junctim Dublin and Drogheda. 75 Dublin and Meath ..... Dub. & Wicklow and Wextd 9l} Edinburgh and grlasgcw Furness, &c 5O Glasgow & South-Western Gt. Eastern,Nrlk.,&E.Union Great Northern 353 Great North of Scotland 5B (.3 t. Northn. & Westn. Irel.) 7lt rit.Soutlin. & Westn.(lrind.) 373. Great Western....... , 10561 Inverness & AberdeenJunc B6; Inverness & Perth Jitaction 119 i Irish North-Western. 145 Lancashire & Yorkshire 402 Limerick and Ennis., Limerick and Foynes 264 Llanelly London & North-Western L o ndon and Blackwall London & South-Western . 450 Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast 261 London, Chatham, & Dover 72 -,litan Extension 101 k2i Do. Metropou.— ~ . .x‘e.,„...._ L on d., Tilbury, & Southend 421 Han.,Sheffield,& Lincolnsh 239/ Manch. S.J un.& Altrineham Of M ar yport and Carlisle 2B Metropolitan Midland (incl. N.-Western) 641 Midland Gt.Westn. of Rind 250 Monkland 712 Monmouthsh. Rath& Canal 44 North British, Edin., Perth a nd Dundee 414 • N-Eastern and Stock. & Darl 10 95 N o rth London 9 N o rth Staffordshire 254 O s westry and Newton s°, Rhymney St. Helen's Canal & Railway. • 52 S co ttish Central 1 S co ttish North-Eastern ..... S om erset and Dorset, 66 S ou th Devon ...........• South-Eastern 306 . Taff Vale 57 Ulster Vale of Clwyd.. Vale of Neath . . 32i Waterford and Kilkenny Waterford and Limerick West Cornwall 274 W.llsotlepool Harbr.&Rail.. • 5 ,?, W'haven,Cleator,&Egrmnt .., Whitchaven Junction n 3' Whitehaven & Furness Jun FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. A n twerp and Rotterdam • 52 Austrian B2B B e l g i a n Eastern Junction .. • Bombay, Baroilaol , s ten. India 18 5 Buffalo and Lake Duren Detroit and Milwaukie 189, D u tch Rhenish ..... . Eas t e rn Bengal E as tern of France 1135 East Indian Grand Trunk of Canada lO9O G re at Indian Peninsula Grea t Luxembourg 134 Grea t Southern of India —at 48Western of Canada 345 RI 447 ' Mad[.. SaragoSsa4,lhCant 650 Mallr id • • 5 Canada ...' •.' . • 91 N orthern 4, *prance ance ' 69 7 Northern of ~ ~~ Norwegian 'fru. Ottoman .. 'germ lBO5 Paris, Lyons, Sr, Mer,„ .. 1 614 Paris and Orleans..„,.. .... 7 1 -..• • Pernambuco .• • •••• . 69 Royal Danish • 68 Sambre and Meu5e........... 430 S o uth Austrian . ..... 1- . .1 Southern of France .....—... • • 77 ' Victor ian lO6 Welland —...—..• 25 ___ _ . 75 Wes':Flanders ............ W. MAUIN.W. Of France...... f . il6 .:34} 48 169 i 329 10321 80 1179, 6:0 250 711 4101 10791 75} 306 10 25} 31 828 204 167 i 161 i 15 108/ 4S 1713 1494 1315 680 151 SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS, Several other witnesses were then called, but their evi dence was most contradictory. The Coroner said that it had been alleged by the friends of deceased that the train had stopped at Mortlake station sufficiently long to allow of the passengers to alight, and that then it proceeded onwards for 40 yards, and then again stopped. After a long legal discussion, Mr. Walton, a gentleman living at Wandsworth, said he was a passenger by the train, and did not notice that the train stopped more than once at the Mortlake station. After the accident he saw the carriage, the wheels of which were on the body of the deceased, lifted bodily off the man. Richard Barrow, also a passenger, gave evidence to a similar effect. The Coroner said the question for the jury was whether the train had been stopped and then started again in such a manner as to jeopardise the lives of the passengers. If they thought so then the company should produce evidence as to that point. The jury decided upon taking the evidence, and Mr. White, the station master at Mortlake, said the train came into the station at a very steady pace, and he heard some one call out " A man under the wheel." Went down the platform and found deceased under the wheel of a carriage The carriage was uncoupled, and deceased was removed. By the Coroner—Did you see the train stop and then go on again? He should have seen it if it had. A large number of the company's servants were then tendered by Mr. Crombie on behalf of the company, and the engine -driver, fireman, and two guards of the trnin, all of whom proved that the train stopped properly at Mortlake. The Coroner then summed up at groat length, and told the jury they would say whether this was an accidental death, or that there had been sufficient negligence to cause the death and make any person responsible, or they could return an open verdict. If there was any negligence proved they would say who was responsible ; but if they carefully considered the evidence it must appear to them whether there was suf ficient evidence as to the improper starting of the train. The jury then returned a verdict—" That the deceased died from injuries received by falling from a carriage step at the Mortlake station of the London and South-Western Railway, but as to how the deceased came to fall there is not sufficient evidence to show." The jury added—That they did not consider there was neglect on the part of the company. IThe inquiry then closed, after a lengthened sitting. THE ACCIDENT TO THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE HELLENIS.—Mr. S. P. Williams, late chief engineer of the steamship Hellenis, died in the hospital at Plymouth during Wednesday night from the injuries he received at sea on Tuesday morning, through having his arm caught in the multiplying gear. An inquest was held on the body on Thursday afternoon, when a verdict of accidental death was returned. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —IIOIIOWRy'S Ointment and Pills have over and over again proved the best friends to persons afflicted with ulcerations, bad legs, sores, abscesses, fistulas, and other painful and complicated complaints. Printed and very plain directions for the application of the ointment are wrapped round each pot. Holloway's alterative pills should be taken throughout the progress of the cure to maintain the blood in a state of perfect purity, and to pre vent the health of the whole body being jeopardised by the local ailment. Bad legs, old age's great grievance, are thus readily cured without confining the patient to bed or withdrawing from him the nutritious diet and generous support so imperatively demanded when weakening dis eases attack advanced years or constitutions evincing pre mature decrepitude. Persons in debt may obtain instant protection against Imprisonment or seizure of their goods, and au entire release from all debts and liabilities without publicity, by application to Messrs. Marshall, solicitors of the Court of Bankruptcy. Charges under .C 5 payable by easy instalments. Offices— (established 1830),12, Hatton-garden. City branch-6, Moor gate-street, Bank—ADVT. TIMES.—The Session of the Legislature of the State of New York opened on the sth of January. The Senate, having legally organised itself before the House of Representatives, commenced business by receiving the Message of Mr. Seymour, the Go vernor. Those politicians who believe that an Ame rican State stands in the same relation to the Federal Government as an English county to the authority of the Crown may enlarge and correct that idea by a perusal of this official communication. Except foreign diplomacy and the management of the Post office, it includes as many points of public interest, and is as closely connected with the national policy, as the Message of the President to the Federal Con gress. The State has its treasury, its finance, its army, is charged with the defence of coasts and harbours, and the Governor for the time being cor responds on almost equal terms with the central power and its civil and military officers. Since Mr. Seymour was elected as Governor he has been re quired to do more with the means at his command than the Federal authority could accomplish, both for the city of New York and the neighbouring State of Pennsylvania. To have suppressed a den • gerous insurrection in the city, and aided the resist ance to an invasion of a bordering territory, enables an authority sometimes called local to take the posi tion of a strong ally of the central rower rather than of the representative of a subordinate province. For these reasons, independently of all political theories, the tone and matter of the Message of the Governor of New York have not the least resemblance to that of an address by a Lord Lieutenant at the Quarter Sessions of a county. The election of Mr. Seymour was an unexpected protest against the Administra tion of the President and the Republican party ; but though there may be many Democrats who secretly condemn the whole policy of the civil war as strongly as they blame its management, thby outwardly ac• cepted the conflict as a necessity. As a party they are the advocates both of war and peace, consequently the South has from the first rejected the alliance they offered. They have obtained no material in fluence on events, but they have done some service as unsparing critics of the proceedings of the Federal Government. They have spoken, when all other voices were silent, against extending the war beyond the first avowed purpose. They would regain the territory of the South, but not devastate it or exterminate the white population, and they have clearly pointed out the political dangers a long continuance of hostilities will bring on the North itself. Against their judgment and predictions nothing can be alleged, except that the first has had no result, and the latter are disregarded. Some of the facts, however, that Mr. Seymour states offi cially are very important, and may have more effect hereafter than his opinions, which, like all the opi nions of a minority in America, are borne down by mere force of numbers. In the first place, the con tributions the State of New York has made to the cost of the war, for bounties to volunteers, the pur chase of arms, and other expenses, have left a defi ciency in the State funds of a million sterling, which must be covered by a loan. In expenditure the State is running fast in the same direction as the Federal Government—towards debt. Though the city of New York itself exhibits such an unnatural flush of prosperity, the Governor finds something to check its pride in the condition of the shipping in terest of that great commercial port. Most of the American carrying trade has now passed into the hands of foreigners. By the last return Mr. Sey mour quotes the value of the cargoes carried in American ships as only half that of the merchandise imported and exported under foreign flogs. But he passes lightly over such topics, leaving the figurer to speak for themselves, to dwell more forci bly on the measures of the Federal Government which have injuriously affected all classes of the community. He gives the first place to the con scription. He insists that volunteering, stimulated by high bounties and increasing pay, is the only means by which men can be obtained for the North ern armies. The conscription has been a failure from the outset. " It wrought a change in the public feeling with regard to military service, and all, with out respect to political views, tried to evade its opera tion." The quota of the St ate of New York was 68,000 men, To procure this number 77,862 conscripts were examined, with the rather alarming result that no less than 53,000 were found unfit for military duty, and exempted for "physical disabilility and other causes." The number who paid commutation money was 14,000; substitutes were purchased by 6,619, and out of the whole draught of nearly 78,000, only 2,557 conscripts were actually " held to service." The repeated postponements of the second conscrip tion appears to confirm Governor Seymour's asser tion that it is impossible to enforce such a measure in the Northern States. He says it not only fails to recruit the armies, but is "opposed to the genius of the American political system," alienates the people from the Government, and blights the industry of the country. The reorganisation of the Militia of every State as a reserve, and volunteer enlistments for bounties and pay, rising with the wages of labour and the depreciation of the cur rency, are the remedies proposed for these evils. But against the more distant political danger of making the Federal Government by a long war a great military Power he can do little more than warn his countrymen. Supported by Congress and the army, it has already " wrought a revolution," through which the Republic is passing almost blind to its significance. The people are living under a military Government, which claims the highest prerogatives, and founds them on " martial law and military necessity." This revolution, " if permanently accepted," will be an overthrow of the whole Republican system. He hopes the people will return to the principles " from which they have been drifting," when they have seen more of the nature and results of a military despotism, but is evidently alarmed by their present apathy. If anything will rouse them from it, it will be the em ployment of the army as a machinery for the elec tion of Presidents. This danger Mr Seymour thinks is by no means remote. Supposing any of the Con federate States are conquered or occupied, the army by which they are held must be still maintained. Then, under the conditions of Mr. Lincoln's last Proclamation, one-tenth of the population in any such State may by taking an oath of allegiance bring it into the Union again, or fix new boundaries, and come in as a new State carved out of the old one. As such it will have two votes in the Federal Senate, and political influence equal to the State of New York itself. The States so forined would re present the interest of the power that created them. They would not only govern the territory mapped out by Executive decree, but the North also. Four teen hundred citizens in Florida would " balance in the Senate" the whole population and wealth of New York. " Less than seventy thousand voters in the nine States mentioned in the President's Pro clamation would wield a power sufficient to weigh down that of nine most prosperous States of the the Union." This, with the nominal States already created in Eastern and Western Virginia, would, Mr. Seymour asserts, create so "many rotten boroughs" which would govern the Union, and de stroy the representative system of the Republic altogether. "It would be a dangerous invasion of the rights of the majority of the American people ; it would enable an Administration to perpetuate its power." Without expressly stating it, Governor Seymour implies that this is really the object of President Lincoln's offer of pardon and amnesty to the people of the South. Of peace, as at present sought, he has no hope ; but he has forebodings of a war carried on to exhaustion, national bankruptcy, and ruin. He calls now for statesmanship to avert the many calamities impending ; yet he can only propose to moderate the unscrupulous policy of the extreme Republicans. As a "war Democrat," he can go no further. But had the whole party ex pressed their full convictions in time, they might have had some chance of reversing it. POST.—We believe that early next session a measure will be introduced by her Majesty's Mini sters to alter and extend the jurisdiction of the county courts. The history of the course which the Legislature has adopted in reference to this class of tribunals is curious and instructive. The great and comprehensive scheme which Lord Brougham pro posed more than 30 years ago was defeated p o r u i7 h ;i pally through the opposition of the bar, who that Westminster Hall and the superior courts would be deserted if Lord Brougham's plan of bringing home to every man's door cheap and sub stantial justice could be accomplished. The credit, however, of having induced Parliament to confer upon the people the benefit of the county court system was reserved , for a layman, the late Mr. Henry Fitzroy, who in the year 1845, in spite of the opposition and dislike of the bar and of metro politan attorneys, succeeded in carrying the act. The county court, in reality, was the mere revival of the shireinote established by King Alfred, which, in the progress of time, had been permitted to fall into disuse. These new tribunals speedily became so popular that Parliament from the year 1845 has on various occasions increased their jurisdiction both as to amount and also by adding additional powers. For example, little more than two years ago every county court was converted into a court of bank ruptcy in cases where the amount of debts did not exceed £3OO, and thus a great boon has been con ferred upon small tradesmen, who have bean spared the needless expense of travelling up to London or to the district court to prove a debt or to oppose a dishonest debtor. The experiment would, we be lieve, have worked more successfully if a simple bankruptcy machinery had been supplied to the county courts in place of the costly and cumbrous processes which may still be requisite in Basinghall street whenever a great, commercial estate has to be administered. It may therefore be hoped that in the preparation of the new measure this point of -----""'"'""k*-----------te------ 21 1 e j otees lln s implifying the bankrupt c y machle er ati n coun ty courts will receiv e consider. 1% mus t he borne in mind that bankrl. sots the county courts seldom produce enung s o fees to th pay the fees of the officers, and that OIL o il en either fall upon the funds of the Ban ks 4„te. Court, or are charged upon a Parliamentary' r.,fot On various occasions it has been proposed t , O °9 o P ais' upon the county courts a small equitable inir the Lion to relieve persons residing at a distance ` n i's; country from the expense and trouble of We i i, gn ifi ed s i : ere , trifling questions determined by so di banal as the High Court of Chatlcery. Perh a P, 3 : of is on principle no more masa u whY th e —ll o ss court should not be entrusted s v ith such m atter, icn administration summonses, as the jurisdiction wtutlie ` now exercises in certain cbx•rity eases; but tee difficulty is this, the court dots not pose F 's o d eihetb,her machinery requisite for conducting ill . li t irie taking accounts, and it may be endowed ed o hs , county court judges are generally ee"tigters of those rare gifts which would make th e? '''''' - t hers equity as well as of common law. I'S' e 113118 ,1. ne tt :etc- , point out an injustice which has been int l • i ite' i these learned personages. Paid originel4l„ege the amount of salary received by each iiiii'l? course varied in proportion to the busineeaveniei't acted, an and this being found extremely inefen'ted:"' d unequal, the following rule was eu ° , 4 l- io eel' The judges in the metropolitan district, n'a%utober taro iarge towns in the country, where tho - xi 6oo l of plaints exceeded a certain average, ba d vest' a year, and all the other judges £l,2oo,lllfojella Subsequently it was determined that in aL .40er appointments, whether in London Theele,einotia the salary should be £1,200 a year. ei,.ll„,.yst is obvious. The Legislature has year el"'doties increased, t both in amount and difficultY, t i ht . l B iagi ° o f ' these gentlemen, but it has not ad e" yodge fraction to their salary. The county ° att .'? 1136 / h stationed in a pleasant agricultural distriewootle hold his court eight or ten times in the . dess e whilst his brother located in the midst of 61 if oric manufacturing or mining population be e , ..„ O il ' every e day in his life except Sunday, alio i ; Dr ases the remuneration is exactly the ee l f,:t Wil l therefore, may also be expected that this P e t ' b - 0 (lir not ptheens e em e r e se a m p ot e bte t hr h se e go a rf t a t n e wt n l t i ai o cr n ha f o s f uthr t e h el e yn T a r a e s a e sn o f ri v rcet; C oot d e r eo t b e et. underpay public servants whose value eee,osink .simated by the increasing duties and "theta' bilities which Parliament has thrown leis e (j° l : n But there still remains to be considereu i ; Olt; ection with the county courts a que,, et ,. i° ,,, - of deeplyhumbler affects the moral and social we't cf - srF''., that as the Bankruptcy Act of 1861 ha! r; dg measurethe abolished imprisonment for neu;' co ol time has now arrived when the pow er of td,'• court n commitment should be taken awei• - :%pe-;gy m e e c n e t s necessary y t h t e o s recall i r t e o e mind tia a w t h h i e e h vi resultas roefaieliniiiigolltoi; years ago under an act passed by Lord Pr","foll': It was then found that the small shoegeePe'-ot for I give their artisan customers no credit --4- 0, loaf h of bread nor an ounce of tea--saYill, t o if I tt m ; don't lost the poWer of putting you in ri b " 0 02 " o° 4 ol I must take care to have across ntpay, tdheebutorh sa t h dg e , 0 ao e sd o s u h n ;e t bn er uo . tw " i nh l ma t sa i: ntyh tr e u m e thateans tali; st:0?:14110 goods, nf and in others the creditor abstaies fr e q r , s'„, lug rom a feeling of humanity for the T ; it family, knowing that, if the humble home tee 0' g ettioto be; brokenhi up, he has no chance of ever The county court commits a debterooo)..lo cause he does not pay his chainndstlearn'esessbtebP4olB: for necessaries supplied, but because, 115100b44nt summoned th and ordered to pay, he hee.'iirili ev a , at order. The simple question is this •.,Jo to the artisan be placed in a worse position I'4o, not get credit F When ho is in erapinin Isi; his ht d uty, like every honest man, to paY P l e of 4 :" u let us for a moment conceive the ste. ) ,P fl o s's cl e ite . important branch of industry by one of 6 ,. - 0 01%1 situdes for which neither master nor art:,, t ' - oele i ti te prepared. A thousand families may be - a3 0 0 o r employment, and if they can get Cr f -I •ojs, little shops until trade reviyes no par t Y2 i g fe el's l and the distress of an unforeseen calseniu ti f i o 4 1 , mitigated; h. but destroy credit, tell the 0r,. - boa ; ist only resource is the workhouse or scre-Alefrip; I door relief, and then we believe that sce lt- otis a - i. a ence would occur possibly leading to det e- G otst n criminal . prison more painful and more e o iOr r ; ating than a county court commitineht bog ere lieved that the county court judges e 5, t o ri/ e ,sili opposed to any change which wouln uoef 'II poor . man of fair and reasonable credit ; W ill] o 6o being so, we trust that this point ells° sio!'",i/ interests that calm and deliberate consideration ttiao i dem er a e n s d ts of the working classes of this Conn"' ___—........a COUNTRY iIARICETS. LIVERPOOL-.--FRIDA t he 0 trode 06 There was a very poor attendance of wheat/ ,d 0 and but a small business was done. : 0 o c or Indian corn met a slow sale, at last roclaY_... r Oats and oatmeal quiet. Beans the turn dea rer ' barley very dull, and declined a shade. 60 16 WAKEFFIELD—FRIDAY. thpif Wheat in fair supply to-day. Trade qui,ettdop made were at rather lower prices than last r fl A jeleS a dull sale, and rather lower in price. Other `" late rates. Averages for the weep 4 2 0 1 1 5 Wheat 1,362 qrs., at ...... .. ~.-0 8 j Rye — ........ 33$ .4A Beans 3O ........ iga 5 Oats BB ........ 30 1 5 1 j Peas .... 55 ;, ...... 310 8ar1ey......... 1.714 ........ ' LINCOLN--FaIDAY. „ ia lca' " ( 41 Affair quantity of wheat on offor at our •--- o to kip and prices as follow : „ r ot' dia..25"1, White wheat new, 43s to 47s Barley , a .• . .. 16,5,Ds°P" Red do. 4os to 42s Oats, 01 9.. . ... " 40 6 w 4O Old white —s to-5 NeW:do ......... 0 e t() Red do. —s to —s 1 Beans.. ...... ... .`" Barley, malting 34s to 37s 1 Beans' Ile STAMFORD—FR IDAI. 410 . 13 11 0 r - 0 White wheat, 41s to 43s ; red,.3Bs 1 ":„ 2991 0 to . Barley, malting , 34s to 36s ; grindineold, Oats, 18s to 24s per 24 stone. Bette' qr.; new, 34s to 365. to The raw BRISTOL SUGAR --1 :0 9 ,it,: f iceta of the week ha g v ar e slyest Hartley telaeernykelmtB!.lll naliateesscitiY.!;:.arti:!rbilt.eillf.iref!el64: per eW s cwt. lower. Refined goods 81.6 4 4 ftw ' at lower rates. Rum sells steadily, a t .- ----- Cowp r en rice ll s ar o Buddle' COAL MARKS Ate 0006 0 , e' t f le C y oal per Ton at the dose of ..- i s i g el '''' 0 a d 18 9 Holy Well "4. i Ships at market, l 3 Foreign Mail p a cket 14 1 S t" Australia and Mauritius, via Southavalawl".... X. Brazil and Cape V e----e-----rdius .. e t, 1 5 : Cape of Good Hope, A.; fey'll , A by lL . 13SriDt:Bps. ..: leo., .o , ve p t: oi F tin a ti lk ia l a : Gibraltar d Falkland Islands I l c a v u l T a n a t ta d S ) a , o ******** v. i.a. .1‘ l'a r. : *********** ** '''''''''' India (Broemnan;),ananand:SinCnOceugPeyn:lBollalam::::el.via;viar.:aisiraStii;l:llSueatfinr..ll:::;:tl2:°.:ll::.°:::::(l::B . :I‘;''' eilleo' PIP 0 vi pton '''' 040,0, via Marseilles ''''''''''' .' ,X Portugal.... ''' ._ .......•. ............. ~ Malta, Egypt, and Aden, ;la. gouthanipton.';' JO; I' via Marseilles ..... 2 Newfoundland .......... Oporto and Vigo ......................... , .......... '‘lalk , U. S. and British N. America, by 13rit. P ................... po ,t, by US. Pae" act. 4. , i by Canadian Pt' ,F, 0 .1: W.C. of Africa, Madeira and Teneritre ...... 'l' e , ' o ' Bahamas, via New York ........... ',J. -. ~s, ............. ~. ,•fi Mexico.. All parts of West Indies, including Cliiii, California, and British Columbia. ......... P l ' Births. Le e" ATLAor.—On the 21st inst., at the 'Vicarage, . de " V' Atlay, of a daughter. lc, ° I BECIIEtt.—On the 19th inst. at gollYbroo ter . I d Ireland, the Lady Emily Becher, of a daugud or° JONEs.—On the 21st inst., at Derry' Orr a r; /30 0 ' shire, the Lady Elizabeth Inglis Jones , ° 10 Marriages. sa int, so, , 00 BRITNEL—NOBLE.—On the 21st inst., l' A oritcitk t., Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Isanfba,T, tollU,Yh'o M.A., of Balliol College, Oxford, and id:(94.,;r'olty eldest son of the late Isambard K. Dian- +OOO rod F.R.S., C.E., to Georgina Geils Donald , 6° V ) late George Noble, Esq., of Greenock. rro vi 0 , e COX—BLAGnAVE.—On the 21st inst,, atl3:V.cliti Church, Talbot Ashley P. Cox, Captain., _ fy lon Agues Derkey. eldest daughter of John .11°' Esq., of Barrow Court, Somersetshire. Deaths. 00,11 1°;:i DuNLor.—On the 21st inst., at St. George.o4ll..efoPP gad 1 ' Archibald Dunlop, Esq., formerly of - has 82. ~e'S, fa FIELDING.—On the 20th inst., at St.ge:Tr:rob-4°)' 4, bury, Augustin Fielding, sen., Bscl. , °' fr. - 40,4 62. ter' f4 e 6 GERRAnn.—On the 22d inst. at No. 31, Leine G i, ct° 44 Upper Hyde-park-gardens, 'Robert Ger rard' fr. oter 77. t if HOGARTIL—On the 21st inst., John Ilagartb' ti , , iu ,-.1,1 61 nergreen, Dlile-end, aged 64. •ci e'llel'°' 0 LLOYD.—On the 20th inst., at Tenho g cop oi ro ) Lloyd, Esq., R.N. s a rreio at TAYLOR. —On the 21st inst., Albury, John Taylor, lat e Madras .Army . al% ;1 1 1 :: ' --- --- ---- --- • DiAg A i.,0. , , London : Prlrize,d and PuNialied by Wil , ,____ otOce, 41. of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at VIE 1.3 1 . ''_ to VP Strand, in the Precinct of the fiavoy::" IdicttilviseX ..Saturday, .Jantlarl 23, Xl4° ~~ i fl,._ , eatita . 4.1,0 f Cori ; APG' f( T oter ,Sirj Sir r„, 14 tl hell,' d , ° I kji Bi t 1 II or It; B; 4 011 ETh 1.~~ ~;; ~. ~n